One more year: Ministry seeks extension in WAPDA chief’s tenure

Term ending in September, extension may spark controversy.

ISLAMABAD: Amid unsuccessful attempts to raise funds for the $13 billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam, the Ministry of Water and Power is seeking one-year extension in service for the chairman of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).

According to sources, the ministry has sent a summary to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, proposing one-year extension in service for Wapda Chairman Shakeel Durrani, who will complete his five-year term next month.

The sources point out that the post of Wapda chairman is for five years and the extension of one year may give rise to controversy.

During Durrani’s tenure, many projects were delayed, resulting in addition of billions of rupees to the cost. In one such example, the cost of Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project on Neelum River in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has swelled to Rs333 billion compared to Rs130 billion in 2008 because of the delay.

In the case of Diamer-Bhasha Dam, the cost has gone up to $13 billion against earlier estimate of $8.4 billion. This project was scheduled to be completed in 2016-17, but was delayed and is now expected to reach completion in 2020-22. Kurram Tangi Dam is another project whose cost has escalated as a result of the delay in work.

The current recommendation for extension in service is contrary to what the water and power ministry planned in October 2010. At that time, the ministry drew up a plan to cut the tenure of Wapda chairman from five to three years and show the door to Shakeel Durrani. At that time, Prime Minister Ashraf was the water and power minister.

In Durrani’s place, it was planned to appoint then secretary for water and power Shahid Rafi as Wapda chairman. However, the plan did not materialise.

When approached, the water and power ministry’s spokesman refused to comment.

However, Wapda spokesman did talk to The Express Tribune and dispelled the impression that Wapda had failed to search for alternative avenues for generating funds for the gigantic Diamer-Bhasha Dam after multilateral donors backed out.

Highlighting the achievements of the current chairman, the spokesman said the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project, having capacity to produce 969 megawatts of cheap electricity, was launched during Durrani’s tenure in 2008.

The chairman also settled the issue of compensation to people displaced by the Diamer-Bhasha project and was in the process of acquiring land for the dam, he said.

In addition to these, he said, work on Gomal Zam Dam was completed during Durrani’s tenure.

According to the spokesman, the chairman also helped raise funds for the Tarbela 4th Extension project and completed the first mega power project in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2012.